30 January 2011

AFRICA:

• Egypt = This week’s demonstrations and riots against police brutality and against President Mubarak have resulted in at least 33 civilian casualties in Alexandria, with estimates of over 50 people dead in a Cairo morgue -- due to excessive force and live fire on civilian protestors. Additionally, the Egyptian government imposed a nation-wide blackout, shutting down the internet and most phone networks. (HRW, FC, FIDH, AI, HRW)

• Ethiopia = YAY! Two districts in Ethiopia’s Afar Region have outlawed Female Genital Mutilation and Cutting, citing the many health problems it causes women and girls. (IRIN)

• Uganda = David Kato, a prominent activist for LGBT rights in Uganda was killed in his home this past Wednesday. He was the Advocacy Officer for Sexual Minorities Uganda and was an active opponent to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill before Parliament. This Bill would officially criminalize all homosexuality, making offenses punishable by life imprisonment or the death penalty. (HRW)

AMERICAS:
• USA = The state of Pennsylvania’s Superior Court met this Tuesday to hear an appeal regarding whether or not to try Jordan Brown, a 13 year-old boy, as an adult. Jordan allegedly shot and killed his father’s pregnant fiancée when he was 11 years old. Currently, the international human rights community is in almost consistent agreement that putting a minor child on trial for a crime which could result in life imprisonment without a chance for parole, violates international law. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibits this action, but the USA (along with Somalia) has not yet ratified that Convention. (AI, CBS)

ASIA:
• Phillippines = Peace talks are scheduled to resume next month between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Phillippine government. Previous negotiations broke down in August 2008 and led to over half a million people being internally displaced. The most contentious topic will likely be Ancestral Domain in disputed territories. (AST)

EUROPE:
• UK = The UK high court—perhaps in response to the killing of David Kato (see above)—granted 29 year-old Ugandan Brenda Namiggade a temporary stay, rather than being deported home on Friday, as was originally intended. Ms. Namiggade is a Ugandan national and a lesbian who has been petitioning for asylum in the UK since 2002. (ADV)

ALSO OF INTEREST:
• The Danish Institute for Human Rights, with the UN, has published The Arc of Human Rights Priorities, a guide developed for businesses looking to integrate human rights practices into their internal management.

· “The Arc builds upon the Sphere of Influence concept, and is designed to allow companies to focus their resources on the most urgent human rights issues in their operations.” (BHR)

• TED Talks go old-school, sort of … you can now read several of their talks on your Kindle. TED Talks are publishing short (10,000 to 20,000 word) electronic books by authors who have given Talks. The launch is 3 TED favorites, including The Happiness Manifesto, for $2.99 each. (FC)

23 February 2009

AFRICA:

• Opportunity to TAKE ACTION:
• Sign the “Africa for Women’s Rights” Declaration here! This campaign's aim is to call on African states to ratify international and regional women's human rights protection instruments and to respect them in law and practice. (AWID)
• Democratic Republic of the Congo = Activists call for the UN to take action to stop rebel massacres in Eastern DRC by deploying more troops there. (AT, HRW)
• Egypt = Opposition leader Nour has been released from jail (after being held for 3 years) and plans to continue his political career. (AT, AJ, DN)
• Egypt = Dia' el Din Gad, a 23 year old student blogger critical of Egypt’s policy towards Gaza is at risk of torture since his February 6^th arrest. (AI)
• Ethiopia = introduces a law against marriage under the age of 18, as part of new family planning laws. Yay! (BBC)
• World Vision Ethiopia’s Amhara province office advocated for this law and explains the need for it thus: girls = economic burden = married off early = not ready for childbirth physically = fistula = pain, shame, death. You can listen to the BBC-World Vision interview here. (BBC, WVR)
• Swaziland = Yay! Attorney Mary-Joyce Doo Aphane has filed a lawsuit to compel the government to overturn a discriminatory law which prohibits women from registering property under their own name. This case will challenge whether the courts will uphold the Constitutional provisions guaranteeing equality for women. (AWID)

MIDDLE EAST:

• Afghanistan = Detainees at Bagram will not have the Constitutional right to challenge their imprisonment in any US court. Boo! (MSNBC)
• Iran = The government is targeting Iranian activists … perhaps with the goal of forestalling a larger human and/or civil rights movement in Iran.
• Shirin Ebadi, a human rights activist and 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been harassed, and two Iranian doctors focusing on HIV have been imprisoned and sentenced to prison terms of 3 and 6 years (see previous posts for more info on them). This is extending beyond these well-known advocates, however, and it is unclear how far-reaching this oppression will broaden or how long it will continue. It’s clearly a situation to keep our eyes on. (NPR)

CULTURAL:

• American author Greg Mortensen, author of Three Cups of Tea is now volunteering for the US military to do cultural sensitivity training in Afghanistan. You can listen to his interview with PRI here. (PRI)
• Iraq = Nadje al-Ali has written a book entitled, What Kind of Liberation? Women and the Occupation of Iraq. She examines how Iraqi women have managed since the US invasion of March 2003. It’s not a pretty picture. (GUA)
• Sudan = Jerry Fowler of Save Darfur, an alliance of 180 orgs, gave a comprehensive 15 minute interview—including the background of the current conflict in Darfur, as well as the current nature of the conflict. You may want to check this out because the ICC is deliberating issuing an arrest warrant for Sudan’s president, al Bashir. Fowler discusses the politics behind the fighting and looks forward to what activists can and will achieve in Darfur. "Need a peace surge." - JP (USHMM)
• You can listen here.

16 February 2009

AFRICA:

• Africa = Human Rights Watch has issued a report about HIV/ AIDS related human rights abuses against women and girls in Africa. Available here. (HRW)
• Burundi = is debating a new criminal code that would—for the first time ever in Burundi’s history—criminalize consensual homosexual sex. No, no, no! (HRW)
• Democratic Republic of the Congo = Aid workers are accusing the Emergency Relief Coordinators of the UN of not protecting the people they are there to protect, and not stopping massacres they know are in progress. The UN says that they only have 300 peacekeepers – most of whom are engineers protecting the airports – for 6,000 square kilometers of rebel territory. So … shouldn’t the UN increase the number of peacekeepers in the area? Ask Alan Doss to do just that. (BBC)
• Ethiopia = Greater and greater numbers of people from Somalia are seeking refuge in Ethiopia. They are fleeing both general insecurity in Somalia as well as accusations that they are sympathetic with a foreign source and/ or that they have converted to Christianity. (AT, BBG)
• Ghana = Outgoing President Kufuor commuted all death sentences in the country before leaving office and encouraged the new President, John Atta Mills, to abolish the death penalty entirely in Ghana. (AI)
• Libya = is writing a new Constitution! Gaddafi’s son is apparently leading this effort. The new Constitution will allegedly adopt the system of direct democracy as a way of governance and will modernize the mechanisms of practicing this authority by the citizens without canceling previous documents like the Declaration of the People’s Power. The content of this new proposed Constitution is still largely unknown. Something to keep your eye on … (AT, TG)
• Nigeria = the Nigerian National Human Rights Commission, and other national, regional, and international bodies, including Human Rights Watch, urged legislators and the president to reject a bill before Nigeria's National Assembly to ban "same gender marriage." (HRW)
• South Africa = Dock workers in South Africa are refusing to unload Israeli goods – to show their solidarity with the Palestinians! Yay. (DN)
• Sudan = Human Rights Watch issued a report titled, “There is No Protection” about the current security situation for civilians in Sudan, and in Darfur in particular. You can read the HRW report here. (HRW)
• Zambia = President Banda commuted the death sentences of 53 prisoners, giving them life in prison instead. (AI)

MIDDLE EAST:

• Afghanistan = A former UN Human Rights Investigator, Cherif Bassiouni, was fired from the UN after releasing a report in the United States criticizing the US of committing human rights abuses upon Afghani people. He accused US troops of arbitrarily breaking into people’s homes, arresting the residents and torturing detainees. The torture allegedly consisted of sexual abuse, torture, beatings, and the use of force resulting in death, violating international treaties and the ideals of humanitarian law. Who is answerable for forcing out Mr. Bassiouni? Anyone know? It’d be great if we could all contact that person. (DN)
• Meanwhile, the US has signed a declaration with Afghanistan to attempt to reduce civilian casualties. (AJ)
• Israel = allegedly deported 10 passengers on a ship from Lebanon who were trying to deliver aid to Gaza. Israeli forces opened fire on the captain, crew and passengers and assaulted them after coming aboard. Another 18 passengers are still in Israeli custody. The ship carried 60 tons of supplies, including medical equipment. (DN)
• See previous posts for the US position on Israel-Palestine relations. It’s just not logical.
• Pakistan = the national government has agreed to restore Sharia (Islamic) law, in the Swat Valley and other areas in the country's northwest as part of a peace deal with local pro-Taliban fighters. How is this deal “promoting peace” if it ends up oppressing all of the ladies? (AJ, BBC)

CULTURAL:

• United Kingdom = The BBC has removed Margaret Thatcher’s daughter, Carol, from her position on “The One Show” for using an ethnically derogatory epithet. She used the offensive term during a private conversation she was having in a green room on BBC premises. She declined to apologize for her use of the remark. (BBC, GUA)
• The movie, “Waltz with Bashir,” has been banned in Lebanon. (PRI)
• So, apparently Fidel Castro has a blog. No kidding. Check it out here. (MSNBC)
• Sex ed via cell phone? (PRI)

AMERICAS:

• United States = The Senate Judiciary Committee leader, Senator Patrick Leahy, suggested that a Truth Commission be convened to investigate the Bush era. Leahy has said that the purpose of this is to assemble the facts, and “at least find out what happened … Those who testify will be offered immunity. Those who do not testify may be prosecuted based on evidence from others’ testimony … and, of course, anybody can be prosecuted for perjury. It may be the ONLY way to get the truth out.” President Obama is allegedly considering this proposal. (DN, MSNBC, NYT)
• United States = The 9^th Circuit Federal Court in San Francisco is considering the Motion to Dismiss filed by the Bush administration in the case regarding the transport and torture of 5 terrorism suspects who were picked up in the CIA’s extraordinary rendition program. This case came before the court during the Bush administration, which pleaded the State Secrets defense to get the case dismissed (State Secrets defense = it would jeopardize national security to even talk about this case in court). The Obama administration is repeating this blanket State Secrets defense. Kinda makes you wonder about the whole transparency issue. (MSNBC, ABC)
• United States = DirecTV has refused to air a pro-Palestinian advertisement on their channels. Click here to take action. (DN, AUPHR)
• US = More people in the military committed suicide in January 2009 than were killed in combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan. What will it take for us to recognize the reality and effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? Currently in the US military, sufferers of PTSD are not eligible for the purple heart medal. Not cool. (DN, NPR)

ALSO OF INTEREST:

• ACTIVIST HIGHLIGHT: Kumi Naidoo
• This South African activist completed a 3-week hunger strike to draw attention to Zimbabwe’s human rights and humanitarian crises, including the cholera epidemic, financial collapse, failure of basic services, and human rights abuses against both civilians and opposing party politicians. (BBC, HFP)
• ACTIVIST HIGHLIGHT: Alison Des Forges
• Activist for the people of Rwanda and the Great Lakes region and genocide expert, Alison Des Forges was killed in a plane crash this week. You can read Human Rights Watch’s tribute to her here. (HRW)
• Cambodia = is finally trying leaders of the Khmer Rouge for human rights abuses committed 30 years ago. In this instance, the revolution WILL be televised. (AJ, NYT)
• Hungary = A Hungarian woman appealed to international law – in the form of CEDAW (The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women) -to stop her abusive partner from further harming her. This remedy is not available to American women because our great nation has not yet ratified CEDAW. (HRW)
• Sri Lanka = is threatening to expel foreign aid workers and journalists in this 3^rd year of war between the government and the rebel Tamil Tigers, now that the military is capturing the last of the rebel bases. The Sri Lankan government has accused reporters from CNN, the BBC, and Al Jazeera of being sympathetic to the Tamil Tigers. Independent journalists are not allowed in the conflict zone. The current humanitarian situation is poor—250,000 civilians are trapped in the midst of the fighting in the Mullaitivu district. Meanwhile the foreign minister says, “there are no human rights abuses in our country.” (DN, AI)
• Russia = Human Rights Watch has issued a report of the status of migrant workers in Russia. People who are migrant workers face many challenges, including being denied wages, threats of violence and police abuse. Check out the report here.